Furniture attachment.



"i. R. BERNDT.

FURNITURE ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. I2. 191% Patented. 'J an. 9, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- l. R. BERNDT.

FHRNlTURE ATTACHMENT. H APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. 1914.

1,21 1,527; Patented Jan. 9,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHN ROBERT BERNDT, 0F MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

FURNITURE ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 9, 191?.

Application filed February 12, 1914. Serial No. 818,834.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN ROBERT BERNDT, citizen of the United States, residing'at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved attachment for furniture wherein the several elements or constituent parts thereof are so arranged as to provide for unlimited use as an article support or holder.

An object of the invention is to providedevices whereby a tray or other substantially fiat support may be detachably secured to the side rail of a bedstead, to the legs of a chair, table or other article of furniture, and there held either horizontally or at any desired inclination and at any desired height, either over or at one side of the said article.

The invention further contemplates an article support wherein the supporting tray may be adjusted to remain in any desired position, regardless of the nature of the furniture in connection with which it is used, thereby permitting universal or unlimited use as a support means for holding books, music, copy work, food and various other articles or devices.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in their preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claim which is appended hereto and forms a part of this application.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of an attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view, partly in elevation, of one of the combined clamping devices and brackets employed in connection with and forming a part of the said invention; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, illustrating the application of the invention in connection with a chair; and Fi 4 is a detail perspective view of a modi ed form of tray or support.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates, as an entirety, the combined supporting bracket and clamp comprising a part of the present invention, the said bracket including a longitudinally split clamp 2, the divisions 3 and 4 thereof each being provided with registering longitudinally extending grooves 5 within which is normally supported a standard 6. Ears 7 are formed integrally with the member 2, the said ears projecting laterally, one from each of the sections 3 and 4, thereby providing, by the use of a thumb screw 8, for the clamping and unclamping of the said member.

Projecting from one side of the section 3 of the clamp member 2, and formed integrally therewith, is an extension 9 in the nature of a stud or spindle, the said extension being received by or arranged to fit within the bore 10 of the head portion 11 of a specially constructed bracket or casting, designated as an entirety by the numeral 12. A second thumb screw 13 carried by the said head portion 11 and engageable with the said extension 9 is provided to maintain the member 2 in the desired adjusted position.

The foot or base portion 14 of the bracket 12 is extended in parallelism with the head portion 11, the said foot portion having a threaded bore 15 formed therein within which a clamping screw 15 operates, the latter being enlarged at one end as at 16 to engage the article of furniture in connection with which the attachment is used. The head portion 11 of the said bracket 12 is provided with substantially flat lat eral extensions 17 which, in actual practice,

form the other engaging surface of the device.

The upright or standard 6 is bent intermediate its ends as at 18 to form a rightangled extension 19 upon which is longitudinally adjustable the supporting tray 20 of the device, the latter, in its preferred embodiment comprising a plurality of angle bars or plates 21 to which are secured in any suitable manner a plurality of parallel strips 22. One of the said strips, designated specifically 23 is angular in cross section to form a rest for a book or other article when used for the purpose of effecting a book support.

One of the angle plates 21 has secured thereto a longitudinally bored bracket 24 through which the extension 19 of the stand A thumb screw 25 is carried provided, the same being disposed at a point adjacent the bend 18 of the standard.

The several adjustments of the device are effected in the following manner: When it is I desired that the tray 20 be adjusted vertically, the thumb screw 8 is manipulated to unclamp the sections 3 and 4 of the member 2, thereby permitting movement of the upright independent of the structure or furniture in connection with which it is used.

To adjust the upright at planes intermediate the vertical and horizontal, the thumb screw 13 is manipulated to permit rotation of the extension 9 within the bore 10 of the head portion 11 of the casting 12. Lateral adjustment may be efl ected by manipulation of either the thumb screw 13 or the thumb screw 25; manipulation of the former permitting longitudinal movement of the extension 9 within the bore 10, while manipulation of the latter will permit bodily longitudinal movement of the tray 20 upon the extension 19. Independent adjustment of the tray 20 whereby the same may be adjusted to lie in a plane intermediate the vertical and horizontal is also made possible by the manipulation of the thumb screw 25, as it is apparent that the'latter, when loosened, will permit the said tray to be swung or moved to any angle desired.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, I have provided a tray 28 composed of a single strip of substantially flat material, one of the longitudinal edges tion, as defined in the appended claim.

of thesaid strip beingfianged as-at '29 to a eifect a rest, the purpose'of which is ob- Vlous. The modified form of tray is par-' ticularly useful in the application of the device as an invalid table.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of myinvention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most eflicient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions; concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary,

I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction,

proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when requiredywithout sacrificing any of the advantages of my lnven- Having thus fully described my invention, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

An adjustable trayicomprising endbars of an angular formation in cross-section, an

intermediate bar of an inverted U-sh'ape in cross-section, a plurality of flat longitudinal connecting bars, the lowermost of the said connecting bars having a supporting flange formed thereon, bearings secured to said end.

bars in abutting relation with the angular extensions formed thereon, a clamp member secured to said intermediate bar in abutting relation with the spaced angular extensions.- 1

formed thereon, the extensions collectively assisting the bearing and clamp securing 1 means in precluding "displacement of said bearings and said clamp, said bearings and said clamp being provided each with a longitudinal bore, each of the several bores being alined, and a means fitting the several bores to support the tray for movement into various positions with respect thereto..

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ROBERT BERNDT. Witnesses:

PETER VAN BRACKEN, P. J. MEERSMAN. 

